The HPL Level Editor is our own application to build maps for HPL3-based games. It is comprised of a set of basic object creation and edition modes which make the building task a lot easier.
When run, the first screen we get to see is like this:
Each part of the screen has a specific function, as follows:
Not listed above are some special windows, used pretty often here:
This is a menu bar, just like in any other windowed application. Available options for this particular editor are as follows:
Here you will be able to switch between the different EditModes available in this editor. An EditMode describes the state the editor is going to work in when selected. These five EditModes can be found in both this and the Model Editor.
The following EditModes are exclusive to the Level Editor
This area is meant to actually show what the map contains. There are four viewports in this editor, and their initial setup is shown in this picture:
When working on a map, only one viewport will be focused at a time. This is shown by a red highlight around the currently focused viewport (in the picture above, focus is on the lower right viewport). To set the focus on a viewport, just move the mouse into it.
In the Level Editor, some controls for the currently focused viewport is shown in the Lower Toolbar.
Each viewport has a "View" menu bar, which includes the following options:
* **Camera Mode**: choosing an item from this submenu will reset the viewport to a preset. An ortho preset means that it will use orthographic mode, so no perspective distortion will be seen. All presets reset the camera target to a (0,0,0) position. One out of the following presets can be picked: * **Front**: ortho preset, scene will be seen from the front. * **Right**: ortho preset, scene will be seen from the right side of the objects, pointing to the left. * **Top**: ortho preset, scene will be seen top-bottom. * **Perspective**: this is the only perspective mode, will reset the camera position to (10,10,10).
Depending on the active controller, moving will be done differently, but all are activated using the view mode key (default left Alt). When this key is held, the red focus frame will turn yellow.
Linux Note: Left Super (aka "Windows" or Apple key) and the Z key are also the view key as the Alt key is usually bound by the Window Manager. Mac<nowiki> OS</nowiki> X Note: A three button mouse is required to use the editor.
All movement and looking will be done using the mouse. In a nutshell, there are three basic movements that can be done:
Looking around is done with the mouse, moving is done with standard FPS controls: W key moves forward, S key moves backward, A and D goes left and right respectively. Q and E for moving up and down.
When working in a viewport, the common thing to do is enlarging it. This can be done by clicking on the 'enlarge button' in the lower toolbar, or pressing the shortcut for it (spacebar).
You can find some useful controls in this bar located at all times at the lower part of the screen. lowertoolbar.jpg
These are the kinds of objects that you can create and place in this editor. Details on each one and parameter listing in the following links:
The following types are exclusive to the Level Editor